Mumbai, March 12 (UNI) Acclaimed filmmaker Priyadarshan, who is reuniting with Akshay Kumar after 14 years with “Bhooth Bangla”,has candidly opined that he stays away from making sequels to his popular films, keeping in mind the pressure it puts on him to create the same impact on the box office numbers, if not less than the original one.
The director is known for hits such as “Hera Pheri” (2000), “Hungama” (2003), “Hulchul” (2004), “Garam Masala” (2005), “Bhool Bhulaiyaa” (2007) and “Bhagam Bhag” (2006). In the recent past, the sequels of his films have been taken ahead by different directors, like “Phir Hera Pheri” (Neeraj Vora) in 2006 and “Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2” (Anees Bazmee) in 2024.
In a conversation with Variety India, Priyadarshan shares his thoughts on sequels and other directors taking his franchise films ahead. He elaborated, “I don’t like to do sequels of my own films because I know how much I suffered to make the original. I am always tense about whether it will work. Finally, when it works, I don’t want to take a bigger burden the next time to make it work again.”
Priyadarshan explained that sequels tend to work best when there is a clear narrative continuation, pointing to films like “The Terminator” and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”, where the storyline naturally progresses from one instalment to the next.
However, he observed that the makers are trying to utilise the fame of the previous film to pull the audience into the theatre. The audiences do come in for three or four days because of the aura of the first part and the films are able to clock some collections. But after that, the films are dropping. “So it’s a kind of exploitation. I would rather say it’s a kind of extortion of the first film. UNI NST SSP
